Nominal: 646.5 Hz Weight: 1896 lbs Diameter: 47" Bell 1 of 8
Founded by William Evans 1753
Dove Bell ID: 6681 Tower ID: 11949 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Tawstock: St Peter
Diocese of Exeter
Church, 615425
Overview
Grid reference: SS 559 299
Probably C12 fabric to nave & chancel; entirely remodelled early C14 when tower, North & South aisles added; aisles raised late C15 with alterations to tower & addition of 2 storey vestry; early C16 South aisle chancel; restoration 1867 by Baker-King under G G Scott.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Footprint of Church buildings: 596 m²
Building Fabric and Features
Tower (component)
13th Century The tower on the North side, with a plain pointed arch connecting it with the church. Early C13th
Historical Notes
1200 - 1299
Period Qualifier: 2
Church
14th Century The greater part of it is C14th, the chancel earlier than the transepts & arcades. The latter, as Pevsner points out, are probably pierced through the walls of an aislesless Norman church, there are square piers with a moulding round: the arches rest on heads. 2 good-sized bays, & a small western one. The transepts are higher than the nave and chancel. The crossing arches die into the piers: above them, it turns octagonal with squinches (was there an octagonal C14th tower?) Stoe & oak groins & ribs
Historical Notes
1100 - 1199
Period Qualifier: 2
Aisleless Norman church - walls now pieced to become arcades according to Nikolaus Pevsner
1867 - 1868
Period Qualifier: 1
Church restored by George Gilbert Scott - nave reseated, reroofed, lych gate added
1500 - 1550
Period Qualifier: 1
Early C16th south chancel aisle
1300 - 1399
Period Qualifier: 1
Crossing tower, North and South transepts and aisles added
1600 - 1699
Period Qualifier: 1
Porch
1600 - 1799
Period Qualifier: 1
The barrel roofs of the transepts and plasterwork C17th-18th
1480 - 1480
Period Qualifier: 1
Aisles rebuilt in ordinary Perpendicular the 2-storied north vestry was added
1540 - 1540
Period Qualifier: 1
South chapel
Arcade
14th Century Square piers with a moulding round: the arches rest on heads. 2 good-sized bays, & a small western one. Previously the walls of an aisleless Norman church, now pierced to become arcades according to Nikolaus Pevsner
Historical Notes
1300 - 1399
Period Qualifier: 1
1100 - 1199
Period Qualifier: 2
Transept
14th Century The transepts are higher than the nave and chancel. The south transept is the Wrey family vault.
Historical Notes
1300 - 1399
Period Qualifier: 2
Chancel
14th Century The chancel is earlier than the transepts and arcades
Historical Notes
1300 - 1399
Period Qualifier: 2
Crossing
14th Century The crossing arches die into the piers - above them, it turns octagonal with squinches. Stone and oak groins and ribs.
Historical Notes
1300 - 1399
Period Qualifier: 2
Aisle
15th Century C. 1480 the aisles were rebuilt in ordinary Perpendicular
Historical Notes
1300 - 1399
Period Qualifier: 2
1480 - 1480
Period Qualifier: 1
Aisle rebuilt
Vestry
15th Century C 1480 2-storied north vestry was added
Historical Notes
1480 - 1480
Period Qualifier: 2
Chapel (component)
16th Century South chapel c1540 with carved wagon roof and Barnstaple tiles. Altar cloth 1697
Historical Notes
1540 - 1540
Period Qualifier: 2
Porch
17th Century Porch C17th
Historical Notes
1600 - 1699
Period Qualifier: 2
Roof
17th-18th Century The barrel roofs of the transepts are celied, and adorned with pretty plasterwork – said to be C18th but Canon Clarke calls C17th. South chapel has a carved wagon roof.
Historical Notes
1867 - 1868
Period Qualifier: 1
Restoration by G.G.S. 1867-8 - church reroofed (except transept)
1600 - 1799
Period Qualifier: 2
Building Materials
Granite
12th Century
Granite
Ham Hill Stone
12th Century
Ham Hill Stone
Sandstone
12th Century
Cornborough Sandstone
Sandstone
12th Century
Crackington Sandstone
Sandstone
12th Century
Hangman Grits
Sandstone
12th Century
Pickwell Down Sandstone
Slate
12th Century
Slate
Interior
Fixtures and fittings
Bench (seat)
19th Century Nave reseated by George Gilbert Scott 1867-7
Historical Notes
1867 - 1868
Period Qualifier: 1
Organ (component)
19th century Organ at west of nave
Historical Notes
1870 - 1899
Period Qualifier: 2
Parclose
16th century Parclose – C16th: the spandrels of the doorwar with renaissance profiles in roundels
Historical Notes
1500 - 1599
Period Qualifier: 2
Screen
Chancel screen - 6 openings with tracery each side and 4 for the doors.
Effigy
14th Century Chancel C14th Wooden effigy of a women – Eleanor or Margaret Martin
Historical Notes
1300 - 1399
Period Qualifier: 2
Reredos
Carved reredos of the Last Supper
Commemorative Object
17th-18th Century Monuments in the chancel: Lady Rolle, d. 1705, by Thomas Jewell of Barnstaple (Canon Clarke notes that historian Gunnis calls it ‘almost worthy of Gibbons’ and points out that it is similar to those Sir Bouchier Wrey, 1696, Florence Lady Wrey, 1726, & Robert Lovett, 1719 – which may be ascribed to the same hand). Bourchier William Wrey, 1839 (& other family tablets). Kneeling wall monument to Mary St. John, 1631, married to Christopher Hockin. Bourchier Wrey, baronet, 1696.
Sarcophagus
North of the sanctuary – Monument to William Bourchier 3rd Earl of Bath & Elizabeth his wife, by whom he had 3 sons and one daughter. The couple lie on a sarcophagus and the family kneel at the ends. It has a very large alabaster background and a projecting canopy with curved pediment in the centre.
Commemorative Object
17th-18th Century Monuments of sanctuary (wall) - To Jane Nailour, 1705. Standing figure of Rachel, relict of Henry Bouchier, Count of Bath, 1680. By Belthasar Burnman and Canon Clarke notes that it is 'except for the pedestal, a reproduction of the elder Burman’s Countess of Salop at St. John’s College, Cambridge.'
Sarcophagus
17th Century In South chapel - Henry Bouchier, 5th Earl of Bath, 1659. Black marble sarcophagus on the backs of four white marble dogs, with obelisks at the corners. Heraldry at the ends of the chest.
Historical Notes
1659 - 1659
Period Qualifier: 2
Effigy
16th century In South chapel - Frances Lady Fitzwarren, 1589. Recumbent effigy under a canopy with six Corinthian columns on projecting pedestals, supporting entablature, with two arches to the North and one to the East and West. Classical style but with strapwork on the tomb chest, pedestals and frieze.
Historical Notes
1589 - 1589
Period Qualifier: 2
Commemorative Object
17th Century South chapel South wall monuments to - Thomas Hinson, 1614, & Anne, 1600 and one unreadable C17th one. North Wall monuments to - George Fane, 1668. The floor consists entirely of ledger stones
Vault
18th-19th Century South transept is the Wrey family vault containing monuments to - In the middle - Sir Bouchier Wrey, 1787- a large square monument, with rails around – by Francis Robins of Bath. East wall - Anne, Lady of Sir Bouchier Wrey, 1791. Depicting a female and urn in front of a pyramid – by T. King of Bath. South wall - Sir Bouchier Wrey, d. 1826, by William & Joseph Stephens of Exeter. The Reverend Sir Henry Bouchier Wrey, 1882. West wall - Anne, second wife of Sir Bouchier Wrey, 1813. Mary Lady Wrey, placed by her Husband Sir Bouchier Wrey in 1754: she died 1751 (white & pink marble sarcophagus on rocaille feet.) Various hatchments.
Stained Glass (window)
Victorian/Pre WW1 South stained glass window of the South wall in the South transept/vault is by Clayton & Bell
Sarcophagus
18th Century West wall of South transept - monument to Mary Lady Wrey, placed by her Husband Sir Bouchier Wrey in 1754, she died 1751. White and pink marble sarcophagus on rocaille feet.
Historical Notes
1751 - 1754
Period Qualifier: 2
Piscina (component)
Piscina in South transept
Commemorative Object
18th Century Crossing monuments to - Northwest corner, Henry Northcote, bart. d. 1720, & Penelope, 1732 by Thomas Jewell of Barnstaple.
Historical Notes
1720 - 1732
Period Qualifier: 2
Bench (seat)
16th century Crossings has some 16th century benches.
Historical Notes
1500 - 1599
Period Qualifier: 2
Gallery (ecclesiastical)
16th century North transept C16th oak gallery to the tower
Historical Notes
1500 - 1599
Period Qualifier: 2
Pew (component)
16th century Family pew with canopy – two sides open, & 2 with panelled backs, & ceiling with rosettes. ‘The decoration, especially the thick balusters, is decidedly in the Franco-Flemish Early Renaissance taste, no doubt earlier than 1559’ (Pevsner).
Historical Notes
1550 - 1559
Period Qualifier: 2
Font (component)
Medieval Norman font in nave
Historical Notes
1100 - 1199
Period Qualifier: 2
Commemorative Object
18th Century North transept West wall monuments to - Mrs Ann Chilcot, wife of Thomas Chilcot, organist of Bath Abbey, d.1758. A relief of a mourning figure with an urn and medallions of herself and her husband.
Historical Notes
1758 - 1758
Period Qualifier: 2
Tomb (component)
16th century North transept - Table tomb of Sir John Wrey d.1597 & Blanche, d.1595: Background with kneeling figures made from slate. Brought from St. Ive in 1924.
Historical Notes
1924 - 1924
Period Qualifier: 1
1595 - 1597
Period Qualifier: 2
Sundial
18th Century Sundial on the porch, 1757, by John Berry of Barnstaple, showing the time in the chief capitals of Europe, & in such places as Ciaro, Babilon, & Port Royal.
Historical Notes
1757 - 1757
Period Qualifier: 2
Bells
Nominal: 1294 Hz Weight: 645 lbs Diameter: 28.88" Bell 2 of 8
Founded by John Taylor & Co 1938
Dove Bell ID: 42140 Tower ID: 11949 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Nominal: 1221 Hz Weight: 676 lbs Diameter: 30" Bell 3 of 8
Founded by John Taylor & Co 1938
Dove Bell ID: 42141 Tower ID: 11949 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Nominal: 1087 Hz Weight: 739 lbs Diameter: 32.38" Bell 4 of 8
Founded by William Evans 1753
Dove Bell ID: 42142 Tower ID: 11949 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Nominal: 967.5 Hz Weight: 790 lbs Diameter: 33.38" Bell 5 of 8
Founded by John Rudhall 1794
Dove Bell ID: 42143 Tower ID: 11949 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Nominal: 863 Hz Weight: 988 lbs Diameter: 37" Bell 6 of 8
Founded by William Evans 1753
Dove Bell ID: 42144 Tower ID: 11949 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Nominal: 815 Hz Weight: 1060 lbs Diameter: 39" Bell 7 of 8
Founded by Mears & Stainbank 1908
Dove Bell ID: 42145 Tower ID: 11949 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Nominal: 726 Hz Weight: 1453 lbs Diameter: 42.38" Bell 8 of 8
Founded by William Evans 1753
Dove Bell ID: 42146 Tower ID: 11949 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Turnings: eighth Cracked: No
Churchyard
Grid reference: SS 559 299
Burial and War Grave Information
The church/building is consecrated.
The churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
The churchyard is closed for burial by order in council.
The date of the burial closure order is 25/06/1969
The churchyard has war graves.
Churchyard Structures
Lych Gate
19th Century Restoration by George Gilbert Scott 1867-8 lych gate erected
Historical Notes
1867 - 1868
Period Qualifier: 2
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
| Name | Status | Number found in this site |
|---|---|---|
| Yew | Veterantree | 2 |
| Yew | Veterantree | 1 |
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
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